Chronology | Current Month | Current Thread | Current Date |
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] | [Date Index] [Thread Index] | [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] | [Date Prev] [Date Next] |
On 18-Oct-04 Michael Edmiston wrote:
Since Jim asks about e = mc^2 it would be reasonable to assume he will
read my first post on "mass" and then ask me "what is material" or
"what
is matter."
I usually answer that question by saying matter is "bound energy" or by
saying it is "localized energy."
I suppose that will bring the question "what is energy." The only
response I have to that is... energy is what the universe is made of.
I have great respect for Michael's grasp of physics, but it is my
judgment that in holding this opinion he commits a heresy, and by
teaching it to his students he commits a venial sin.
(Please forgive the metaphor, coming as it does from an atheist, but it
happens that it is apt in this case.)
The orthodox view, which I hold to be correct: The energy is not
substantial; it is not a real entity. The energy is an abstraction. The
energy did not exist before it was invented. The energy is a state
function, a quantity which may be calculated for any isolated physical
system from the values of all the parameters that characterize its
state.